Financial Director articles from October 2008

Financial Director archives from October 2008

We will survive.(United States financial crisis)(Viewpoint essay)
October 30, 2008... Byline: Dennis Turner we will survive The doom-mongerers were right A- to a point. But now it's time for learning and healing, not picking the sores 'This is the end of western civilisation as we know it' A- that was budget...

Beast within.(IAS39 and the United States financial crises)
October 30, 2008... Byline: Peter Williams beast within Financial crisis has brought a lynch mob to fair value's door. But IAS39 could have actually curtailed the fallout One of the biggest battles being fought amid the financial crisis is over...

Playing politics.(government regulations)(Viewpoint essay)
October 30, 2008... Byline: Robert Bruce playing politics Any regulatory changes now will be too politically loaded to be of much use at preventing future crises It is virtually impossible amid the current market turmoil to turn out a monthly...

clouded vision.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Robert Jaques clouded vision Is cloud computing pie in the sky, or a useful, if nebulous, concept for internet-based information management? It is said that every cloud has a silver lining, but it is still unclear if...

sec puts fair value in the clear.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Peter Williams sec puts fair value in the clear Fair value accounting is under increasing pressure as losses on writedowns further tighten the credit markets According to the International Monetary Fund, global losses...

Combined forces.
October 30, 2008... Byline: David Rae combined forces Enterprise software vendors are enjoying a buoyant market as companies turn to business intelligence to negotiate the downturn. But consolidation in the market may stifle innovation Last autumn,...

BI's continued growth.(business intelligence)(Brief article)
October 30, 2008... Byline: David Rae BI's continued growth There are several reasons why business intelligence will continue to grow : n CIOs are coming under increasing pressure to invest in technologies that drive business transformation and...

Strengths and weaknesses of the players.
October 30, 2008... Byline: David Rae Strengths and weaknesses of the players arcplan Independent BI vendor which is strong in corporate environments that have lots of heterogeneous technologies. Its CFO cockpit product A- an analytic and dashboard...

Track the cash.(Company overview)
October 30, 2008... Byline: David Rae track the cash Accurate spend analysis and supplier visibility is essential for companies looking to leverage better deals and secure greater cost savings It's a procurement industry adage: for every pound...

who SANTAN-DaRes wins.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Jules Stewart who SANTAN-DaRes wins Emilio BotA-n has turned what was a virtually unknown Spanish bank into one of the world's most profitable financial institutions, writes Jules Stewart He is known as El Fara-n, the...

Fair value clarification.(Brief article)
October 30, 2008... Byline: Peter Williams Fair value clarification Q. Can management's internal assumptions be used to measure fair value when relevant market evidence does not exist? A. Yes. When an active market for a security does not exist, the...

Shelf confidence.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern Having delivered in the UK's meatiest FD job, Tesco's Andrew Higginson is ready for his close-up as a CEO and A- maybe A- scourge of the UK's retail banking industry words Melanie Stern portraits Alex Griffiths...

Worst-case scenarios, revisited.
October 30, 2008... Byline: David Kern Worst-case scenarios, revisited Six months ago, economist David Kern wrote a cover story for Financial Director on the worst-case scenarios facing western economies. This month he reflects on where we are now, and...

City bonus culture in rude health despite backlash over bank failures.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Rachael Singh City bonus culture in rude health despite backlash over bank failures Bonus points Bonus payments at UK companies have doubled since 2001, according to data from the Office for National Statistics. A total of...

Recession forces rate cuts but inflation will return.
October 30, 2008... Byline: David kern Recession forces rate cuts but inflation will return After repeated failures, G7 governments have repulsed threats to their banking sectors, but the bailout costs are immense. Inflation concerns have been relegated...

listed companies top green index.(Carbon Disclosure Project)(Brief article)
October 30, 2008... Byline: Rachael Singh listed companies top green index Research shows top UK companies are global leaders when it comes to climate change disclosure and governance FTSE-100 constituents are sailing ahead of global competition in...

directorsi?1/2 ongoing concern.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Neil Hodge directors' ongoing concern Directors will come under greater scrutiny as the FRC updates its guidance on the 'going concern' concept Given the current economic climate, the Financial Reporting Council wants to...

efficiency target for buildings.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Rachael Singh efficiency target for buildings Ongoing energy performance assessments are designed to give commercial buildings a green bill of health Led by the European Union's Energy Performance in Building Directive,...

European businesses will lead restructuring fad i?1/2 eventually.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern European businesses will lead restructuring fad A- eventually Western Europe companies will lead a trend towards undertaking major restructuring processes of their business due to the current economic outlook for...

Credit pipeline to remain blocked until 2010.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern Credit pipeline to remain blocked until 2010 Supply of affordable credit to companies will not recover until as late as mid-2010, according to finance directors and CFOs polled in accountancy firm Deloitte's...

The 2008 FD salary survey.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers It's not quite the first sign of the credit crunch biting where it hurts, but this is the first year we've ever seen a fall in FTSE-100 FDs' total pay packages. Basic salary growth was quite subdued at just 3% (it was...

Taking stocks.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers TAKING stocks Huge pay, questionable competence. Answers are needed about the role played by some of the FDs and CFOs at the most damaged financial institutions words andrew sawers Fannie Mae The...

murky game of pass the parcel.
October 30, 2008... murky game of pass the parcel Working out the risk involved in credit default swaps is difficult enough. Ascertaining their value is even more daunting, writes Anthony Harrington We're all familiar with the sub-prime mortgage disaster...

back to the future.(financial forecasting)
October 30, 2008... back to the future Accurate forecasting often takes a back seat in good times. But during recession, FDs need to brush up on this skill, writes Charlotte Moore We can but hope that the government's move to throw countless...

Technical update.(International Accounting Standards Board, Financial Reporting Review Panel, and Financial Accounting Standards Board)(Brief article)
October 30, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers Technical update financial reporting The IASB and US standard setter FASB announced details on their joint approach to financial reporting issues arising from the financial crisis. They announced the creation...

Not everyone is on board.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern Not everyone is on board A cheque for [pounds sterling]37bn signed by the UK taxpayer was handed over to the stricken UK banking sector in early October by Messrs King, Brown and Darling "to support stability in...

News update.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Melanie Stern The 'R' word The pound suffered its worst decline in 16 years the day after Bank of England Governor Mervyn King said it was "likely" the UK economy was entering a recession on 21 October. His comments came...

Libor relaxation.
October 30, 2008... Byline: Andrew Sawers Libor relaxation After the near-paralysis in the money markets in September, it started to look in the third week of October as though the vast amount of money being thrown at the markets -- not least the...